India's opposition parties protest against a controversial electoral roll revision
Hundreds of lawmakers and supporters began the protest from parliament and were confronted by police, who stopped them from marching towards the election commission office in the capital, New Delhi. Police briefly detained some lawmakers, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
India's opposition accuses the Election Commission of India of rushing through a mammoth electoral roll revision in eastern Bihar state, saying the exercise could render vast numbers of citizens unable to vote. The revision of nearly 80 million voters involves strict documentation requirements from citizens, triggering concerns it could lead to the exclusion of vulnerable groups, especially those who are unable to produce the paperwork required to prove their citizenship.
Some of the documents required include birth certificates, passports and matriculation records. Critics and opposition leaders say they are hard to come by in Bihar, where the literacy rate is among the lowest in India. They say the exercise will impact minorities the most, including Muslims, and disallow them from voting.
India does not have a unique national identity card. The widely used biometric-linked identity card, called 'Aadhaar,' is not among the documents listed by the poll body as acceptable proof for the electoral roll revision.
The election agency has denied the allegations and said it has ensured no eligible voter is 'left behind.' It has also said the 'intensive revision' is a routine update to ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls and is needed to avoid the 'inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants.'
According to the commission, some 49.6 million voters whose names were included in a similar exercise in 2003 are not required to submit any further documents. But that still leaves almost 30 million other voters potentially vulnerable. A similar roll revision of voters is scheduled to be replicated across the nation of 1.4 billion people.
Bihar is a crucial election battleground state where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has only ever governed in a coalition. Poll results there could likely impact the balance of power in India's Parliament, where Modi's government relies on coalition partners, including a regional party from Bihar.
Modi's BJP has backed the revision and said it is necessary to update new voters and delete the names of those who have either died or moved to other states. It has also claimed the exercise is essential to weed out undocumented Muslim immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh who have fraudulently entered India's electoral rolls.
Critics and opposition leaders have warned that the exercise is similar to that of a controversial 2019 citizenship list in India's eastern Assam state, which left nearly 2 million people at risk of statelessness. Many of those left off the final citizenship list were Muslims. They have been declared 'foreigners' and some of them faced long periods of detention.
Gandhi, the opposition leader, made public last week his Congress Party's analysis from southern Karnataka state that alleged nearly 100,000 votes cast for an assembly seat in the 2024 general election were fraudulent. India's election commission dismissed his claims.
'A clean voter roll is imperative for free and fair elections,' Gandhi said Sunday in a post on X.
Saaliq writes for the Associated Press.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Does India Need Tesla Now as Much as It May Have a Few Years Ago?
Tesla opens two official stores in India, years after various efforts to enter the country while also avoiding the massive import tariffs on foreign-made vehicles. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a number of times regarding building a gigafactory in India, but the discussions have not resulted in a positive outcome for the country. Tesla now offers only the Model Y in India, assembled in China, but now lacks the attention and political will to build a full-size plant in the country of over one billion people, as India's domestic automakers catch up. For a country with over a billion people, India has remained largely uninterested in Tesla for a long time. Or so it seemed. Every few years we heard rumors of overtures made by Tesla's team to India's government, wanting to be the site of Tesla's future gigafactories, but after a few weeks of hopeful forward-looking political niceties nothing would materialize. The last time India was seen as being among the finalists for a Tesla Gigafactory was in 2023, as Elon Musk teased that he was looking at a number of countries for the next site, including Canada. But 2023 was also a very different time for Tesla and for Elon Musk, no matter how close it seems. At the time, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi even reported to have made a personal push for Gigafactory India, which would have given Tesla not only tremendous regional export potential, but also longer-range export potential to Europe. In the end, nothing came of that particular effort in 2023, though India did once again pop up in mid-February of this year as CEO Elon Musk met privately with Prime Minister Modi, amid rumors of another push for a Tesla gigafactory in India. Attractive Electric Micromobility Network One of the reasons India has been among the finalists for Tesla's next plant is its population of 1.45 billion, and India has a very advanced electric micromobility network, making it suitable to host thousands of Tesla Supercharger sites. Also, Tesla in 2023 was still reportedly considering a $25,000 model, which would have been a popular version for India and for regional export. The eventual demise of that model, believed to have been felled by a number of factors including inflation, seemingly closed the door on Gigafactory India as well. One major sticking point during all of these negotiations—at least as it concerns an official launch if not local manufacturing—was a waiver from India's very high import duties, which had effectively kept out many Tesla vehicles, even through the gray market. Now, Tesla appears to be inching closer to an official sales launch in the country if not local manufacture—a business case that seems to have eroded relatively quickly over the past two years. For starters, Tesla would need the money to build the factory in India, and its financial picture is seen as having steadily eroded throughout 2025. Stores in Delhi and Mumbai? Nevertheless, Tesla has just opened a showroom in Delhi and has leased several pieces of land in nearby cities. A Supercharger location has been built near the Delhi site as well, with more planned for neighboring cities. Overall, Tesla reportedly plans one store in Delhi and one in Mumbai, and so far the only model on sale in the country is the Model Y, which is made in China. It's not quite the big, official launch, but something closely resembling the arrival of a western luxury brand in China in the 1990s, and without local manufacturing presence. The Model Y in India, therefore, is bound to be a pricey, rare, rich person's car with just a couple of official company stores located far apart—quite different from what was envisioned a few years ago. And it won't be an offering for the middle class, like it is in China or Europe. When it comes to local manufacturing, those chances now seem lower than just two years ago when the Berlin-Brandenburg plant was at least meeting European demand. That demand abruptly cratered due to a significant dip in Elon Musk's popularity in a number of western European countries and remains unlikely to be regained anytime soon. Likewise, Tesla appears to be done building gigafactories in far-off foreign countries for the time being, at least barring major political changes. More importantly, Tesla no longer appears to have the capital to devote to such a venture, nor any new (and actually affordable) models to offer India, while also facing a thin middle class not willing to spend money on anything the automaker has in its lineup at the moment. Those major political changes may well turn out to be China's quick assimilation of the EV market in scores of developing countries in Southeast Asia and South America, both of which disfavor Tesla's regional ambitions on the Indian subcontinent. We are also likely to see India's domestic automakers, Mahindra and Tata among them, break out of a largely domestic market and offer their own affordable and desirable EVs that can be exported—something which is already happening. India, it appears, may not need Tesla as it did just a few years ago. Does Tesla need new, less expensive vehicles in its lineup, beyond the Model 3 and Model Y? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Politico
2 days ago
- Politico
Mamdani and Obama also have this in common
With help from Amira McKee A changing of the guard. An invigorated youth vote. A foreign-sounding name. Zohran Mamdani's rise to prominence echoes Barack Obama's barrier-breaking 2008 presidenti al campaign in many ways — as Al Sharpton, Letitia James and other Democrats have noted — albeit on a much smaller political battlefield. But Obama and Mamdani also have the common experience of being Donald Trump's bogeyman. Years ago, Trump promulgated the conspiracy theory that Obama, a Hawaii native, wasn't born in the United States. Now, as president, he's questioning Mamdani's citizenship and labeling him a communist, though the Uganda-born Democratic mayoral nominee is a naturalized U.S. citizen and a democratic socialist. Mamdani confirmed Thursday to reporters that Obama called him after his stunning June primary win to offer him guidance on leading in a harsh political climate. The two Democrats discussed the role of hope, the animating theme behind the momentous campaign that made Obama the country's first Black president, Mamdani said. Their conversation was first reported this week by the New York Times. 'We spoke about the importance in a moment such as this, where politics is often characterized by a language of darkness, the necessity of hope in how we speak and how we orient ourselves to the world,' Mamdani said Thursday at a campaign stop in the Bronx. Mamdani is poised to come into power opposite the MAGA president in a political landscape far more divided and partisan than it was two decades ago. The young state lawmaker has sought to make Trump a target in his general election campaign, embarking on a 'Five Boroughs Against Trump' tour and linking his top competitor in the race — former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — to the president. 'Calling President Obama a Muslim, a socialist, not born here and somehow un-American, none of that was true,' independent political analyst J.C. Polanco told Playbook of Trump. 'Mamdani, on the other hand, actually fits that mold. He is Muslim, a socialist, born in Africa, and his name is not exactly Tom, Dick or Harry, easy fodder for those focused on otherizing.' Mamdani, if elected, will have to face off against Trump far more directly than Obama did, especially as the president threatens federal funding cuts to New York City and vows to arrest Mamdani if he interferes with deportation efforts. 'Mamdani will likely take office as mayor when Trump has been at his most authoritarian, whereas Obama intentionally only weighs in selectively during Trump's presidencies,' Democratic strategist Trip Yang told Playbook. At his anti-Trump tour's Staten Island stop on Wednesday, Mamdani faced jeering protesters in the only borough Trump has won in each of the past three presidential elections. The candidate remarked Thursday that it was a sign of the political times. 'I had to walk through a number of New Yorkers who told me to go back where I came from,' Mamdani said. 'I know that those New Yorkers are representative just of themselves. And yet, sadly, that is what politics has become for far too many.' — Emily Ngo HAPPY FRIDAY, and a bittersweet farewell to POLITICO New York intern Amira McKee, whose work on Playbook and more has been invaluable all summer long. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE'S KATHY? In New York City with no public schedule. WHERE'S ERIC? Schedule unavailable as of 10 p.m. Thursday. QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'There is only one candidate in this race who is standing up to a corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires. That candidate is @ZohranKMamdani. And I am proud to support him.' — Sen. Bernie Sanders in an X post responding to Andrew Cuomo's video bragging he's the only candidate who passed a bill supported by Sanders, lowering college tuition costs for certain New Yorkers. ABOVE THE FOLD LYNCH TO THE CAMPAIGN: A close adviser to Gov. Kathy Hochul will depart the administration next month to join the reelection campaign, POLITICO Pro exclusively reports this morning. Chief of Staff Stacy Lynch is set to leave after Labor Day, according to the governor's office. Lynch will serve as a senior adviser to Hochul's campaign effort as the governor runs for a second full term next year. 'I am extremely fortunate to have had Stacy Lynch serve as my Chief of Staff for the past three years, and I am grateful she will continue to advise my campaign going forward,' Hochul said. 'Stacy leaves our administration and our state stronger, and I am deeply thankful for her leadership, partnership, and friendship.' Hochul credited Lynch with helping negotiate state budgets and rent relief for New York City Housing Authority tenants, bolstering New York's response to the migrant crisis and leading an investment in the SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Lynch also established the state Office of Faith and Nonprofit Development. 'After three years in the New York State Executive Chamber, I will conclude my service as chief of staff and join Gov. Hochul's reelection campaign,' Lynch said in a statement. 'I am grateful to Governor Hochul for her friendship, trust, clarity of purpose, and the support she gives me to do the work, and I am excited to get to work helping her win re-election in 2026.' The departure comes as the governor is preparing for a challenging 2026. Federal cuts to the state are expected to widen a budget gap that's already projected to be $7.5 billion. Her potential Republican opponent, Rep. Elise Stefanik, has wasted little time attacking the governor this summer on a variety of issues, including public safety. 'Stacy Lynch is an extraordinary asset to any team: smart, strategic, and deeply connected to the communities she serves,' said Hochul campaign manager Preston Elliott. 'Bringing her on as senior political advisor is a win — not just for our campaign, but for the people of New York. With Stacy's help and Governor Hochul's leadership, we will inspire voters and chart a path to a safer, more affordable New York.' — Nick Reisman CITY HALL: THE LATEST A LIST CAUSE: Cuomo said Thursday he would not release a list of clients who paid his legal consulting firm, Innovation Strategies, during his time out of the public eye. During a Thursday press briefing, the independent mayoral candidate flatly declined to publicize his client roster, continuing a posture he has held since the primary, as POLITICO previously reported. 'They were private clients, and there's an attorney-client privilege,' Cuomo said. 'But there was no representation before any city government or state government.' As governor, Cuomo pursued new ethics rules that mandated the disclosure of legal clients who paid state legislators and sought to limit exemptions for attorney-client privilege. And while he has said he did not advocate for clients before local governments, a Bloomberg report found that the former state executive worked as a paid adviser to a cryptocurrency exchange facing a federal investigation. A separate report in POLITICO also found Cuomo failed to disclose millions of dollars in stock options from a nuclear technology company he received via his consulting company as compensation for being on the firm's advisory board. The client list has become part of a back and forth between Cuomo and frontrunner Mamdani, whose rent-regulated apartment paperwork has been sought by Team Cuomo. — Joe Anuta CUO OUT EAST: Cuomo's going back to the Hamptons this weekend where he'll attend a fundraiser hosted by Andrew Stein — weeks after the former New York City Council president briefed his longtime friend Trump on the mayoral race and pitched Cuomo as the strongest candidate to defeat Mamdani, as The New York Times reported. Stein and his brother, media executive Jimmy Finkelstein, are among the hosts of a Saturday night Cuomo fundraiser in Southampton, according to an invitation reviewed by Playbook. Also co-hosting is Finkelstein's wife Pamela Gross, a close friend of Melania Trump who held an unpaid White House role advising the first lady. And tonight, Cuomo's raising bucks in Bridgehampton where the host list includes billionaire investor Greg Hymowitz and his wife Marcella. She previously donated $150,000 to pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City. Cuomo has made a habit of the Hamptons, spending at least three other weekends out east since losing the primary. After all — it's where the money is. And Cuomo's allies have been trying to convince people with second homes to switch their voter registration back to the city, the Post reported. Cuomo's campaign declined to comment on the fundraisers. — Jeff Coltin TURKEY DAY: Erden Arkan, the Turkey-born construction company owner who pleaded guilty to giving straw donations to Adams, is due to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court at 11 a.m. today. He's hoping to get no prison time for the scheme, Playbook reported. More from the city: — The NYPD allows unlicensed psychologists to perform assessments that can cost would-be cops their jobs. (City & State) — Chinatown residents confront the city over 'Megajail' designs at the first public workshop. (Documented) — Mamdani could learn valuable lessons on city-run grocery stories by looking at the struggles of municipal broadband ventures. (Vital City) NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY REDISTRICT THE VOTE: Erasing New York's independent redistricting commission may not pass muster with voters. A survey of deep blue California found voters by a nearly two-to-one margin prefer an independent panel drawing House boundaries. The result comes as Hochul, in response to red state redistricting efforts, said this month she would support disbanding the voter-created independent commission in charge of New York's House maps. The poll is heartening to supporters of the commission — namely political activists on the right and nonpartisan government watchdog groups — that oppose partisan redistricting. 'We believe the more independent a commission is, the better off the public is,' Conservative Party Chair Gerard Kassar told Playbook. Kassar's group backed a successful effort to sink a 2021 state constitutional amendment that would have weakened the commission. He expects a similar campaign will be run if state lawmakers propose a constitutional change to end the independent commission. 'Money plays a role and I'm hopeful we'll be able to come up with the resources to bring the case to the public and I anticipate we'll win,' he said. — Nick Reisman More from Albany: — Environmental lawyers slammed the Department of Transportation's climate policy. (POLITICO Pro) — Hochul says Mamdani needs a reset with the NYPD. (NY1) — Regulators approved rate hikes for two upstate utilities. (POLITICO Pro) KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION CORNERED: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is raring to discuss the Republican megabill cutting social services on national TV. He's far less eager to answer questions about Mamdani, the candidate heavily favored to become the next mayor of Jeffries' hometown. CNBC hosts hammered Jeffries with questions Thursday about Mamdani, his proposals, including freezing rents, and the race for mayor — until the top House Democrat grew visibly frustrated. 'I'm trying to understand why you would spend a significant amount of time asking me about the Democratic nominee who's not even the mayor,' Jeffries said when asked about free market advocacy versus democratic socialism, saying it's Trump 'who is regularly attacking the free market economy, bullying corporations, bullying universities, bullying law firms.' Jeffries and Mamdani met last month in Brooklyn, but Jeffries is among the Democratic leaders who have yet to endorse the party's pick for mayor. In the CNBC interview, the minority leader commended Mamdani's focus on lowering living costs, but he indicated that he believes Mamdani still has work to win over more voters in November. 'He ran a strong race in the primary, obviously, relentlessly focused on affordability, which is a big problem,' Jeffries said. 'But now during the general election, he's going to have to demonstrate to a broader electorate, including in many of the neighborhoods that I represent in Brooklyn, that his ideas can actually be put into reality.' — Emily Ngo More from Congress: — Congress is lukewarm on RFK Jr.'s plans. In the states, they're catching fire. (POLITICO) — The Democratic National Committee will consider two Gaza-related resolutions at its meeting this month. (Semafor) — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's fictional Long Island family, the Baileys: A joke, or tribute to the overlooked voter? (Newsday) NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — So-called 'zombie debts' can haunt New Yorkers for decades. (New York Focus) — The Buffalo mayor and city comptroller are in a standoff over a bonding dispute. (Buffalo News) — Faith leaders held a jailhouse vigil in response to Nassau County's ICE policy. (Newsday) SOCIAL DATA MEDIAWATCH: New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa introduced a resolution Thursday condemning the owner of the New York Daily News and calling on private Alden Global Capital to reach a deal with its reporters union. 'New York's Hometown Paper' has been fighting for a contract for more than four years. MAKING MOVES: Jack Lobel is now press secretary to City Council Member Julie Menin. He was previously a special assistant to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and press secretary for Voters of Tomorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Brian Romero, chief of staff to state Sen. Kristen Gonzalez … former state Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer … DGA Group's Ryan Toohey … Parkside's Jake Herring … Tiana Betancourt … C&V's Lauren George … Gil Quiniones … Rachel Haot … Jorge Fanjul … Puck's Leigh Ann Caldwell … Devin O'Malley … MSNBC's Richard Hudock … ABC's Mariam Khan … Kevin Hall … AP's Juliet Linderman … Larry Cohen … (WAS THURSDAY): Jay Horwitz (8-0) … David Samson … Carol Levin … Ester R. Fuchs … Raphaela Neihausen Missed Thursday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
2 days ago
On India's Independence Day, Modi vows to punish Pakistan for future attacks
NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan that India will punish its neighbor if there are future attacks on India as he marked 78 years of independence from British colonial rule. Modi's remarks Friday come three months after nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan engaged in four days of intense fighting, their worst clash in decades. Modi addressed the country from New Delhi's 17th-century, Mughal-era Red Fort, saying India has established a 'new normal' that does not differentiate between 'terrorists' and those who support terrorism. He said he would not tolerate what he called Islamabad's 'nuclear blackmail." 'India has decided that it will not tolerate nuclear threats. For a long time, nuclear blackmail had been going on but this blackmail will not be tolerated now,' Modi said. Pakistan previously has rejected India's statements about nuclear blackmail as provocative and inflammatory. India celebrates its Independence Day one day after Pakistan. The two states came into existence as a result of the bloody partition of British India in 1947. The process sparked some of the worst communal violence the world has seen and left hundreds of thousands dead. It triggered one of the largest human migrations in history and some 12 million people fled their homes. India and Pakistan exchanged tit-for-tat military strikes in May that brought them to the brink of a war. The fighting between the two countries was sparked by an April massacre by gunmen in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly Hindu tourists. India blamed the attack on Pakistan-backed militants. Islamabad denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation. Days after the massacre, India launched strikes on Pakistan and said it had hit nine 'terrorist infrastructure' sites. 'Terror infrastructure was turned to rubble,' Modi said in his speech Friday. Pakistan responded by sending waves of drones into India, as well as missile and artillery bombardments. Dozens of people were killed on both sides until a ceasefire was reached May 10 after U.S. mediation. Pakistan immediately claimed it shot down six Indian aircraft during the clashes, including a French-made Rafale fighter. India acknowledged some losses but did not provide details. Last week, India's air force chief said India shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and one other military aircraft during clashes in the first such public claim by India. Pakistan rejected it, saying both sides should open their aircraft inventories to independent verification. During his Friday speech, Modi also hinted India would continue its unilateral suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. The treaty, which India suspended after the April massacre, allows sharing of the Indus River that runs about 2,897 kilometers (1,800 miles) through South Asia and is a lifeline for both countries. 'Rivers from India were irrigating the lands of enemies while my country's farmers and land faced a deficiency of water," Modi said. 'India has now decided that blood and water will not flow together." Pakistan has said any effort by India to stop or divert the water from flowing into Pakistan would be considered an 'act of war.' Modi did not directly mention U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on India in his Independence Day speech but said he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, one of the main sticking points in trade negotiations with the U.S. Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25% penalty on India in addition to 25% tariffs for buying oil and weapons from Russia. India has resisted U.S. pressure to open its markets to some farm products as Modi's government is unwilling to risk angering farmers, who are a powerful voting bloc. 'India will not compromise on interest of farmers," he said. Modi claimed India's demography was being changed as part of a 'conspiracy' through illegal migration and announced what he called a 'high-powered demographic mission' to tackle the problem. He did not provide further details. 'No nation in the world can hand over itself to infiltrators,' he said. Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has repeatedly described influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh as a 'national security crisis' and claimed that unchecked Muslim infiltration from the country is leading to a demographic shift in India. In recent months, Indian officials have conducted what they call a verification drive, which they say is intended to identify immigrants lacking legal status. Many people, most of them Muslim, have been detained or expelled to neighboring Bangladesh.
